TAGBILARAN City ? It was a fiesta atmosphere at the Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex here following championship-clinching wins by two Boholanos in the ?Bakbakan sa Tag-bilaran.?
Rey ?Boom-Boom? Bautista kept his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific bantamweight title after a second-round knockout win over challenger Obote Ameme.
In the other co-main feature, Czar Amonsot overcame a fifth-round knockout to wrest the WBO Asia-Pacific junior lightweight title from Victor Mausol with another knockout win in the eighth round.
Skills
Bautista dropped a flurry to the body of his challenger from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, which paved the way to a knockout win at 1:57 of the second round.
Bautista used his superior skills to neutralize the hard punches of Ameme, who was forced to play defense right after the opening bell.
Shortly after the second-round bell, Ameme was sent on the seat of his pants for the first time.
After Ameme got up, Bautista met him with another flurry of punches to end the bout as referee Bruce McTavish of New Zealand counted the challenger out of the fight.
The fight lasted only for four minutes and 57 seconds, much shorter than the 10-minute fireworks display prepared by Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim and Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado to open up the hostilities.
Deduction
Amonsot was in control of the fight in the first three rounds, but he was frustrated by the tough defense of the Indonesian champion, whose counterpunches kept the Tagbilaran fighter at bay.
In the third round, Amonsto was deducted a point for hitting below the belt. After the deduction, Mausol, nicknamed ?The Leopard,? quickly charged in and knocked Amonsot down with a series of uppercuts.
Ropes
Amonsot survived the fifth round and regained strength to dominate the seventh round, setting up his straights with accurate jabs as Mausol wisely used the ropes to break free.
In the eighth, Mausol started to show off, opening his jaw to Amonsot, who obliged with a hard straight and left hook as the Indonesian champion dropped head first on the canvas.
Referee Teddy Alivio counted out the Jakarta fighter in 1:17 of the eighth round.
Mausol needed five more minutes to recover, only to get up with the belt now strapped on Amonsot?s waist.
